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Released by: IDW Publishing
Released on: May 14, 2014
Back on Earth in Meg-City One, cutoff from the rest of the city, it's up to Dredd and Pachoda to stop the Dark Judges.
[SPOILERS? YEP, WE GOT 'EM!]
Pachoda spots her body inside the massive Judge Metastasis, her body having been swapped with corrupt and convicted Judge Harvies, with Pachoda inside his body, sentenced to Titan and becoming reborn there. But her attack on the huge Judge is swatted aside when it notices she is “unclean.†Dredd, meanwhile, is finding it difficult to fight Judge Sludge when Judge Choke is making him cough with his mist. Dredd, though, is at least able to break that Judge's neck. He's then able to summon his incendiary rounds on the Judge Sludge and escape. Then, the goliath begins to fall apart, with the many citizens comprising its “body†now very confused…
Psi-powered Judge Kathryn is giving a status update to Judge Cal, telling that when she tries to reach Judge Omar she gets Dredd instead. Cal doesn't like this so he orders the remaining Judges to not only fight the Dark Judges but, also, to capture Dredd. He's busy, though, pressing Harvies reluctantly back into service while he fights the Judge Fistula and frees the citizens it has also captured. Kathryn, meanwhile, is able to see that these “Judges†were just beings from other dimensions, brought here and made honorary Judges, to each play a part in taking over the city.
Pachoda is chasing the giant Judge Metastasis down but is soon intercepted by Judge Stigmata, who gets Pachoda to start cutting herself. Dredd, meanwhile, the immediate threat neutralized, is captured by two Judges and gives himself up. He's taken before Cal who's blaming him for this whole thing but the Chief Justice wants to hear what Dredd has to say about the containment fields. But this allows Dredd to (apologetically) take the Chief Justice prisoner and commandeer the hovercraft.
This is part three of the American Way of Death storyline and finally brings all the disparate elements together. Duane Swierczynski's story is fast-paced and pretty busy but he keeps everyone clearly identified so no one gets lost in this mix. Likewise, the artwork from Nelson Daniel just has a blast with all the special abilities of these Dark Judges and adds greatly to the entertainment value of this series.
